The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

I would love to know all success AND horror stories.

We will move Jack into a full size bed once he turns three I think.

I'm a big believer in "If it ain't broke don't fix it" but I also don't want to hold him back just because I'm selfish and like to sleep.

So, please, tell me all of your transitioning stories. Things that worked. Things that backfired. Do you have a gate on the door? What do you do with toys in the room?

Every little thing you can think of to help this mommy who is dreading saying goodbye to the crib!

If your kid is older than three and still in a crib I would love to hear that too! Maybe I will postpone it a little longer!

ETA: Does your kid still take naps? I have heard of countless stories of when the child moves into a bed they don't nap anymore. THAT I cannot handle

Message edited 3/29/2010 9:42:11 PM.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

DD was a little less then 2 1/2 when we did, i was nervous as well to move her from the crib bc she is such a good sleeper and didnt want her to get out of bed...but have to say it went well, i do have a gate by her door so she cant come downstairs during the middle of the night, if she was to wake up. Leading up to her bed, i took her shopping for her big girl furniture and had her help to pick it out, when it was getting delivered i kept talking about it, so she was so excited to get her "big girl bed", so maybe that helped her with it..not sure, but had no problems..hth a little!

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

glad you posted. my DD is the same age and in a crib. i keep putting it off too b/c she is a great sleeper, seems happy in her crib,,,,,and yes, i like that i can sleep too! i keep thinking how long can i keep her in the crib without it stunting her? is it ok to go beyond 3?! i am not looking forward to this change myself. i'm thinking of biting the bullet and doing it this summer.....maybe.......

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

I held off putting TJ in a bed until a week before I had Derek. I was scared he would never sleep again.

He changed no problems. Still naps 2-3 hours a day and sleeps well at night.

We did set up his big boy room a few weeks before the move in and we moved his things in there and would sit on his bed and play and talk about this being his new bed and new room.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

miki was 22 months when we converted her crib to a toddler bed and 26-27 months when we moved her into a full sized bed

We used to keep the door shut with a doorknob cover on the inside so she could not get out (trapped some may say but it was what worked for us)

now, we leave her door open which is a PITA, she talks to us from her room and gets out of bed countless times

in the beginning, I would stay with her until she fell asleep, that lasted about a week

after that, she did fine, she went through a few phases where she would sleep on the floor by the door but she overall does great

good luck and get a sticker chart for when he stays in bed, that works great for miki, she LOVES to get her sticker in the morning for doing good at night

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

we just converted to a day bed last night. I didn't try any tricks at all. He loved it. Two nights now with no issues.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

Thanks for starting this post Diana

Chris will be 3 in May but LOVES his crib...I am scared too so maybe this post will help us

I also have both kids in one room which makes me even more nervous

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

I think 3 is the perfect age. I waited until then too, I also believed if it aint broke don't fix it

There was never an issue. It was pretty much a non event. We also changed the room & they slept exactly as they did in their cribs. I think it was because they were older.

I never even had to get the guard rails. but my girls are in full beds.

They never get out of their beds. Only to go to the bathroom.

No gates involved.

Good Luck

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

Diana, we moved her to a toddler bed b4 she was ready b/c I didn't want to buy another crib when DS was born. She was 22 months & it was too early. I made the mistake the first night of laying on the floor w/ her...DON'T do this. I sneaked out when I thought she was out & she wasn't...this went on for 2.5 hours. (Ended up setting up the pack n play in her new room...she was getting used to a new room too)...FF a few weeks...she ended up loving her toddler bed..sure there were nights we had a visitor in our room...but we never used a gate at her door. We also told her we'd give her a sticker if she stays in her big girl bed all night (this seems to work). In her crib she never needed a nightlight; but she insists on one in her toddler bed.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

Ugh it was a long process for us...im going to summarize!...

October 2009 (DS was 25 mos) - converted crib to bed....he kept getting out of the bed at night.

We tried for like a week to exit the room and repeatedly put him back in the bed but we gave up (he got out of the bed at least 50x/night)

We then would sit in his room (in a chair) until he fell asleep and kept laying him down over and over again if he stood up. He would usually fall asleep within 20mins so it was that bad....just annoying,.

We also tried putting a child proof doorknob on the inside of his door for like a night but I felt horrible doing that b/c he'd just cry wanting to get out.

Around January or February he finally got it, and would stay in his bed if he was tired enough. I was skipping his nap on purpose sometimes in order to acheive this!! But also, we got a video for his room so if he did get out of the bed we would see and immediately run up there and put him back.

Now, I never let him sleep his full nap (3hrs) or he wont go to bed until like 10pm! I usually wake him up after a 1.5/2hr nap and he goes back to bed around 9pm. If he naps too late it ends up being later.

He wasn't napping at all in is bed unless we took him for a car ride and transferred him to his bed to nap (he would stay asleep or be sleeepy enough to remain in the bed).

A few times this month I got him to sleep in his bed just by putting him up there but for some reason the last few days he resists. I try putting him back a few times but eventually assume he isn't tired enough....or I resort to the car ride.

he sleeps all night thru so I've never had an issue of him getting up in the middle of the night.

HTH!!!!

Oh, on a good note, we have friends who put their 2y/o in a bed and the kid never got out...like, he just stays in the bed. I dont get that at all but apparently he doesn't get up...so think positive! Every kid is different!!!

Message edited 3/29/2010 10:04:36 PM.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

We moved DD to a twin bed when she was about 27-28 months. No issues at all. It's kinda funny - she can climb up on her own, but hasn't figured out that she can climb down yet, so every morning she still calls for us! We do close her door at night, but that is something we have always done.

Naps and bedtime weren't affected at all. She always slept 12-13 hours at night, and takes a 1-2 hour nap around 1:30ish.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

We just switched to her big girl bed in her new room. It's been a bit rough, I'm not going to lie to you! BUT- my child is a monkey! We had the tent on the crib, b/c she use to climb out of her crib.

Whether this is the right or very WRONG way of putting a child down, we make sure she's asleep before we leave the room. She goes down for DH, no problem. ME- an hour if I'm lucky! Sometimes, I resort to "rocky rocks" in the chair and some nights, I just am too tired to I lie down next to her until she's asleep

That's not the rough part. She's fine once she's asleep and actually likes lying in bed reading books. The problem has been she's fully potty trained and she wakes up every morning anywhere from 2-3 to go potty. I guess I should be happy about this, but I'm tried! It takes her a while to fall back asleep, which means, it takes me a while to get back to my own bed. I've been up for almost 2 hours every night.

We only have a gate at the top of the stairs.

To end this on a positive note... she loves to nap in her bed- almost 3-4 hour naps- can't wake the kid up!!!!
Good luck

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

Rylan was climbing in and out of his crib during the day...not night. We ended up taking the front off and putting a bed rail...to see how he did before getting a twin. It's been great!! If he wakes up at night he'll call me and in the morning he also calls me when he wakes up. He won't get out himself. Hopefully he does just as good with a twin because then we can give the crib to Xav.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

Posted by Phoebee

We just switched to her big girl bed in her new room. It's been a bit rough, I'm not going to lie to you! BUT- my child is a monkey! We had the tent on the crib, b/c she use to climb out of her crib.

Whether this is the right or very WRONG way of putting a child down, we make sure she's asleep before we leave the room. She goes down for DH, no problem. ME- an hour if I'm lucky! Sometimes, I resort to "rocky rocks" in the chair and some nights, I just am too tired to I lie down next to her until she's asleep

That's not the rough part. She's fine once she's asleep and actually likes lying in bed reading books. The problem has been she's fully potty trained and she wakes up every morning anywhere from 2-3 to go potty. I guess I should be happy about this, but I'm tried! It takes her a while to fall back asleep, which means, it takes me a while to get back to my own bed. I've been up for almost 2 hours every night.

We only have a gate at the top of the stairs.

To end this on a positive note... she loves to nap in her bed- almost 3-4 hour naps- can't wake the kid up!!!!
Good luck

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

As you know we switched Landon a few weeks ago (he was 21 months). Like you I wanted to keep him in the crib as long as possible but once he started climbing out I was too nervous about him falling and getting hurt. We had a toddler bed in the attic that someone had given to us, so we just used that for now and put his crib mattress right in. The first week was tough with him getting out and trying to play in the middle of the night or trying to come in our room. We have a gate right outside of his door so he can't get out of his room. After a week he got used to it and is now a pro! He naps and sleeps with almost no problems. Every now and then he will refuse naps and there was nothing I could do about it, but nights have been pretty good. He does seem to wake up earlier now though.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

We put Bry in his twin bed right around Christmas time.
We started at nap time. He freaked.
OK, back to crib.
Tried it again a few days later and let him cry for about 5 mins.
That night, no joke, he ASKED for his big boy bed.
We have 2 bed rails. The bed us up against the wall, but, there was still a gap between the wall and the bed.
We have a baby gate at the door because his room is at the top of he stairs and he always has slept with the door closed, so, we continued that as well.
He waits for me to open the door, then gets out of bed (i probably should count my blessings on that one LOL).

Bry was 3 in Jan.

**we also moved him because DD needed to move into the crib. We didn't want to go out and buy another one**

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

We did it last month - maybe 2 months ago... completely no issues at all. I was worried because he had so many sleep issues. Aside from falling out of the bed a few times (oops ) he was fine!!!!

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

At 2.5 DD was still in her crib but I developed a shoulder problem and couldn't get her in and out of the crib. We were given a very plain toddler bed that the crib mattress fits right in.

DD was a great sleeper in her crib and I anticipated issues especially at nap time but the transition was so easy, almost no problems at all.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

Mads has been in the toddler bed for a few months now. The only reason we did it is because DH got curious and decided to convert her crib to "see what it would look like" and Mads went crazy over it. He put it back because her room was NOT fully toddler proofed. It's all she talked about for the next day or twso until he was able to secure her furniture and we could childproof everything.

The first week she stayed up later than normal playing with her toys, but eventually the novelty wore off.

She still doesn;t go to bed as early as she used to because she stays up playing, but it really was a smooth transition.

ETA: she still takes a 2 hour nap daily.

Message edited 3/29/2010 11:10:12 PM.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

I found out about 1.5-2 months ago that DS crib was recalled. I had not choice. I had to go cold turkey and convert the bed to a toddler daybed that day.

I went from a crib WITH tent to the daybed.

I bought a bedrail. I got one that left an opening at the end of the bed to teach him not to go over the rail to get off the bed.

I took my dogs bed (they have a huge one they share) and put it on the floor in case DS would fall at night.

One of the biggest adjustment was for his naps. He can get up anytime and he does.

We have had no issues at night. He loves going to bed when he is tired. He does not get up at night.

I thought about placing a gate by his door but so far we have not needed it.

Another big adjustment, I can no longer leave him in the safety of his crib and tent to do something upstairs. Now, I have to constantly keep an eye on him. So the minute he is awake also in the morning, I HAVE TO get up too.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

Thanks for this thread....I'm going to need it soon!!!

DS is 3 1/2 and still in his crib. I'm also of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" camp. Ped said there was nothing wrong with keeping him in there....he's never tried to climb out {{knocking wood}}

We just started making over his big boy room and will likely put him in a toddler bed with rails as he is all over the bed when sleeping. I am due with #2 in August so ideally I'd like him in his new room by June so there's no association between the new room and the new baby GL

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

This is a great thread. We actually just finished decorating DS' big boy room but havent put him in it yet because I'm scared. He's in the nursery with all of his old furniture and stuff and he loves that crib so much that I'm afraid to switch him (we're only switching now bc we didnt want to buy a second crib). So far we just keep going in there and reading books on his bed etc and yesterday he was asking to sleep in there. We'll prob try tonight so I'll let you know how it goes!

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

We went on vacation when DS was 3.4. We had a 2 bedroom suite so the kids were in one room and we were in another. Well DS, all 35lbs of him back then slept in a king size bed for 4 days. Once, we got home he slept in his crib for 3 days and then one night he gave me a really hard time about going to sleep in there.
I asked if he wanted to sleep in grandma's bed (guest room) and he said yes. So he slept in there and we then decided to put him in a bed. We redid his room from a nursery to a big boy room and converted his bed to a full.

He transitioned with no problems at all. He never gave me a hard time about going to sleep but he did stop his naps. The naps didn't bother me because I was going to stop them anyway. If he napped it would take almost 2 hours to go to bed.

If we didn't go away then he would have been in a crib longer.

Now for DD, I am switching her at 3. She seems to really want to be in a bed. She likes to get changed on DS's bed and likes to pre-tend sleep in my bed and DS's.

Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly - Transitioning from a crib to a bed?

AJ was 13 months when we started napping him in his twin... he did great

at 16 months we took the crib apart and he had no other choice but to sleep in his bed.

he was never one to really play with his toys, he knew once the door was shut it was bed time.

he is a little over 2 1/2 years old now and sometimes he will wake in the middle of the night and come into our bed, but for the most part he stays in his room.

he did give up napping a little over 2 years old, but that only means an earlier bed time for him.

when he was napping he would nap a good 2-3 hours

my advice is to start the napping (if he naps) in the bed and slowly transition to the bed... and then take apart the crib.. out of site out of mind.

we are planning on taking DD out of her crib at 1. i hope it goes as smoothly